MARGAO
This should serve as a wake-up call for the Margao municipal city fathers, babus and the powers that be controlling the affairs of the civic body.
If the city body has turned a blind eye to waste burning by Margao municipal workers across the city, notwithstanding it poses a health hazard to Madgavkars and Fatordekars, Margao municipal workers have now been caught red-handed in the act of disposing of wet waste along the city roadside.
When the wholesale fish market road was being maintained spick and span by the state administration, including Goa Waste Management Corporation given the Foreign Ministers conference of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) at Taj Exotica, Benaulim last week, Margao municipal workers were caught disposing of wet waste along the wholesale market road.
Caught with their pants down, workers of the agency engaged by the GWMC made the MMC workers physically lift the bags. The MMC workers took the excuse that the wet waste was being disposed of at the site since it is not accepted at Sonsodo and the vehicle will collect the bags at 2 pm.
The no-nonsense GWMC workers told the MMC staff that they had no right to dump the waste on the roadside even if the vehicle will come to collect it later in the day.
Goa Waste Management Corporation Managing Director Levinson Martins have lodged an official complaint with the MMC Chief Officer concerning the dumping of waste by MMC workers along the road near the wholesale fish market.
In his complaint, Martins stated that on May 4 at around 8.55 am, while the supervisory officials of GWMC highway cleaning contractor KCIC Pvt Ltd were on supervision of cleaning of roads in view of SCO meeting at Benaulim, they noticed workers of MMC in an MMC vehicle bearing registration number GA-08-U-6239 dumped two bags of waste along the road near the wholesale fish market.
Immediately he said, the KCIC officials confronted the driver as well as other workers in the vehicle and forced the duo to lift the dumped waste and take it along with them for proper scientific disposal.
“Initially the worker in the vehicle was reluctant to take back the waste, but later on took the waste bags along with them,” Martins stated.
Since the entire incident has been captured on video, the GWMC MD enclosed a CD of the incident to the Chief Officer.
He pointed out that given the SCO meet, the GWMC contractor KCIC has been vigorously cleaning the roads, however, incidents like this nullify the efforts. Further, dumping of waste is an offence under Goa Non-Biodegradable Garbage (Control) Act 1996 (GNBC Act 1996) as amended,” he reminded.
The GWMC MD has requested the MMC Chief Officer to ensure proper inquiry in this matter and to identify the municipal officials and take action under the Act.
The complaint has been sent to the Secetary, Department of Science, Technology & Waste Management & Urban Development, Secretariat, besides the Member Secretary, Goa State Pollution Control Board for information.
A copy of the complaint has been sent to the Police Inspector, at Margao Police Station for strict action under the Goa Non-Biodegradable Garbage Control Act, 1986.
